Self-adjusting arch support



April 1 1924. 1,488,561

l. SOMMERFIELD SELF ADJUSTING ARCH SUPPORT Filed 061;. 23'. .1922

,4 TTOHNEYS strass rsrnon somivrnnrrnnn, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SELE-AID.TUSTING` ARCH SUPPORT.

A* Application filed October 23, 1922. Serial No. 596,277.

ToA all whom t may concern.' Y

'Be it known that I, lemon SOMMER'FIELD, a citizen. of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, inthe county' of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Self-AdjustingArch Supports, of whichthe following isa full, clear, and exact description.l

My invention relates to improvements in self adjustingn arch supports, and it consists in the combinations,constructions,'and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide an arch support of the character describedv in which means is ,provided for adjustably supporting the inner and outer longitudinal arches independentlyv of, one another.

A further object of my invention is to provide an arch support of the character described that is capable of adjusting itself to the peculiar contour of the patients foot. This improvementis of utmostiimportance since there are four arches to the foot, any one or moreof which may beabnormal and cause discomfiture.

A further object of my invention is to pro- Vide an arch supportof the character described that iscomposed of a single piece of resilient metal which is' adapted to be inserted between the insole and the outersole of the shoe of the wearer.

A further object of my invention is to provide an arch support of the character described that is normally substantially fiatv until cooperating portions thereof -Y are locked to one another to occasion a resilient arch intermediate the support, which operation is performed prior to applying the arch support to the shoe. Y l

Other objects andadvantages'will appearin the following specification, and the novel' features of the invention will be` particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application,in .which Y Figure 1 is a top plan view of my improved arch support in a substantially flat condition,

Figure 2 is a sectional view of my arch support after it is applied to a shoe,

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the arch support seen in Figure 2, and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of my improved arch support immediately prior to its application to a shoe.

v In carrying out myv invention, I make use kofthe ordinary type ofl shoerl having an ber 4 composed of a fine Aquality of spring steel. AThe member 4 is stamped substantially the shape shown in Figure 1 from the fiat sheeting and is pointed at one end 5 and substantially blunt at the opposite end 6. There is an opening 7 disposed longitudinaln ly lthrough the member 4, and a slot 8 through theV relatively blunt end 6 communicating with the opening 7. Theslot 8 is substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the member 4.

A pair ofsmall openings 9 are provided in the end 5, and a pair of sharp upturned integral lug portions 10 are providedjat the end 6 o f the member 4.V These lug portionsY from the underside thereof sothat the' hook i portion 12 may engage with the slot 11 when the opposite portions 13v and 14 of the member 4'are lmanually moved toward one another.

It will be seen from thel foregoing descrip- Y Vso tion'thatfmy improved arch support is sub, l A

stantia'lly flat when it is delivered from the forming dies. Y

In order to provide a substantially strong,

yet resilient arch in the member 4,r the .por-Y tions 13 and 14thereof must be moved toward one anotherv and the hook 12 engaged with the slot 11, the portion 13 overlapping the portion 14 at points adjacent the slot 8. This operation is done manually and the arch support will then assume the general shape shown in Figure 4.- An inspection of Figure 4 will reveal that there'are substantially two resilient arched portions 15 and 16 formed of the portions of the member 4 on either side of the slot 7 One of the advantages of dividing the arch support in this manner is to provide an adjustable support forboth the inner and the outer longitudinal arch. It is well known inthe upon openings 9 in the end 5,

art that there is a vast difference between the inner and outer longitudinal arch'V in the feet of different people. Some patients suffer from weak inner longitudinal arches,

which fact is evidenced by the turning in of the ankle and subsequentv irregular wear the heel of the shoe worn by the patient. Other patients suffer from a weak outer longitudinal arch, though the inner arch may be normal. It is therefore of utmost importance to provide, as I have in my improved arch support, independent and adjustable supporting members for each of these two arches.,V v Y In inserting my improved arch support in the shoe, nails are driven lthrough the which end is disposed adjacent the heel 17 of the shoe, and inserting the upturned' lugs 10 into the soft inner sole 2. The lugs 10 will therefore preclude accidental lateral and longitudinal movement of the end 6 of the arch support.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. Ordinarily my arch supports may be shipped and conveyed to the shoe manufacturer orto the repair shop in a substantially fiatcondition as shown in Figure 1. lt -is at once evident that this constructionv greatly facilitates packing and shipping, since the arch. supports will occupy very little room and a great many maybe packed oneupon the other in a relatively small space.

lvVhen the arch support is ready tofbe ape plied to the shoe, theworkman or manufacturer will manually move the portions 13 and 14 toward one another and lock the hook portion 12 in the slot 11. The portions 15 and 1,6 of the member 4 will immediately become arched and will remain so as long one anportions 15 and 16 ofthe member 4 due to abnormal lstrain brought. about by bringing the portions 13 and 14: out of their normal position. The arch support is then inserted between the insole and the outer sole 3, and the shoe is ready for the wearer.

ln use, my arch support not only provides an independent resilient support forA the inner and outer longitudinal arch, but'it also provides a self adjusting support for the transverse arch and the interior metatarsal arch. The peak of the arches of the portions 1.5 and 16,v as indicated at 18, actually shift longitudinally of the member 4 when pressure isbrought to bear upon the adjacent parts of the portions l5 and 16. It is therefore evident that if there, is a tendency of the footV to arch toward the heel that the peak 18 of the arches 15 and'16 will lie adjacentl the heel, since the pressure will be somewhat'increased at i the foot duel to the relative position of the bones and Vflesh ofthe foot. lf the arch of the foot tends to lie adjaentthe forward portion ofthe foot, thenl the peak 18 ofthe arched portion 1-5 and. lwill besubstantially as shown in dotted. lines.

the forward end j of, y

'm Figure e, f

i. e., the-peak 1877always tends to assume a .Y

position in registration with the natural arch ofL thefoot.` In speaking of the arch, I have reference tothe general arch of the entire bottom ofthe foot'which might be considered the vcombination of the interior and` outer longitudinal arch.

I claim:

LA device of the character described comprising a substantially flat' resilient metalmember having an elongated opening therethrough, aA slot: extending Vlongitudinally of saidinemberY )froni'theedge ofsaid member at one end to andcommunicatig with the Opening@ its Qth end, vheeby the portions of1 i said member adjacent said slot may beoverlapped to causey said'member to arch inteianediatelifts length-` Y Y 2.151 device ofthe .Character de scifiloedY comprising a substantially4r flat resilient metal member having an,el ongatedl opening therethrough, 1a slot extending longitudinally of saidniember membfer atI one end, and communicating With the:elongatedpopening at itsA otherend,

whereby the portions of saidwlnembefr'adjacent saidslot may ,beoverlappedl to cause said member to arch and means for locking, saidoven-lap'pcdV portions of saidA membery against movement apart from one another.

rsiDoR SDMMERFIELD.'

from, the edge of ,said v intermediate its length, v

lee 

